Tag: rating: b

Tarte Showstopper Clay Palette ($38.00 for 0.73 oz.) is a new, limited edition round compact that features six eyeshadows and three cheek products. It’s a decent to good eyeshadow palette, and though none of the shades are particularly unique, it may be nice for travel. The one thing to keep in mind is you may need to take your own brow bone/highlighter shade, as the cheek highlighter is pretty over-shimmered relative to the finishes of the eyeshadows. I think last year’s Rainforest After Dark palette was better coordinated, though, as the really warm-toned blush doesn’t complement the eyeshadow shades as well as it could. The quality is about the same, and I think if you normally use primer and like the colors included, you may really enjoy the palette. Most of the shades wore a little shorter on me, which brought down the overall rating.

Fame is a brightened pop of medium orange with warm, reddish tones and a mostly matte finish. It had good color payoff with what seemed like a soft, silky consistency in the pan, but it wasn’t as blendable as it could have been in action. Though Tarte touts the wear of the formula at twelve hours, it lasted for eight and a half hours on me.See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

Park Ave Princess is a dark brown with subtle, yellowish undertones and a semi-matte finish. You can find this in their permanent range as well, and if you have more than a handful of Tarte palettes, you probably have it in another palette as well! It had good pigmentation with a lightly powdery texture that was blendable on the skin and wore for eight hours. I feel like every version I have of this product is a little different than a past version; the one in this palette is a bit darker and less warm/red. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

Champagne Pink is a brightened, pink-tinged white with a metallic sheen. It had a really soft, blendable consistency that yielded great pigmentation that could be applied easily on the skin. I recommend applying with a very feathery brush (I used a fan brush), as it can emphasize pores. It lasted for eight and a half hours on me. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

Showstopper Copper is a muted, medium-dark brown with warm, reddish undertones and silver sparkle. It had good pigmentation with a silky texture that ran thin but was still blendable and easy to work with. It lasted for seven hours on me. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

Go for the Gold is a softened, dirty gold with warm undertones and a frosted sheen. The texture was slightly dry and thin, which gave it a semi-opaque result on the skin, while it had a tendency to sheer out further when blended on bare skin. It lasted for six and a half hours before creasing. This was the kind of eyeshadow that greatly benefits from a primer. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

You’re a Natural is a muted, peachy-brown with warm undertones and a matte finish. It had decent to good color payoff that had a soft, silky texture. It could get a smidgen powdery in the pan, but it applied evenly and blended well on the skin. On me, it started to crease after seven and a half hours. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

Steel the Scene is a medium-dark, taupe brown with subtle, warm undertones and a frosted sheen. It had nice pigmentation with a soft, buttery texture that was really easy to blend on the eye. It wore well for eight hours before I noticed slight creasing. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

Rose to the Top is a darkened, rosy copper with warm undertones and a metallic finish. It was intensely pigmented with a smooth, blendable texture that was dense and creamy. The color lasted for eight hours before creasing. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

Dim the Lights is a deep, dark brown with neutrla-to-warm undertones and a mostly matte finish. It is more pigmented than it appears in the swatch, but the texture is a little powdery and doesn’t stick as well to bare skin, though it was buildable enough when I was using it on my eye in practice. It was fairly blendable and stayed on for seven and a half hours. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

NARS Glow Pink Lipgloss ($26.00 for 0.18 fl. oz.) is described as a “sheer fuchsia.” It’s a sheer, fuchsia-tinted gloss that looks more like a stain once applied. For as sheer as it seems, it actually darkened and altered my natural lip color considerably, though I suspect those with naturally redder lips may not find the effect as noticeable. The gloss has a light-medium thick quality that is mostly non-tacky and smooth, but the way it stains/applies looks a bit uneven. The glossiness lasted for two hours, and it had worn down to a very subtle stain at that point that was gone by the fourth hour. I found the formula to be neither drying nor hydrating. Get comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

NARS Mezmer Lipgloss ($26.00 for 0.18 fl. oz.) is described as a “sheer neon pink.” It’s a brightened, fuchsia pink with cool, blue undertones and a glossy shine. It is a darker, brighter take on Glow Pink. It had semi-sheer pigmentation that didn’t cover evenly but did stain. The texture was smooth and mostly non-tacky, and it was comfortable to wear. It lasted for three and a half hours on me. Get comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

NARS Nebulous Lipgloss ($26.00 for 0.18 fl. oz.) is described as a “neon coral.” It’s an orange-coral with warm undertones and a muted quality to it. I was surprised it wasn’t also described as sheer like the previous two shades. It is fairly sheer but produces a noticeable stained look to the lips, and despite looking completely different when swatched on the skin, the resulting stain (on my lips) is surprisingly similar to Glow Pink. It had the same slightly uneven result on as well. It lasted for three hours on me. Get comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

NARS Nucleus Lipgloss ($26.00 for 0.18 fl. oz.) is described as a “seashell pink.” It’s a light, pinky beige with cool undertones and a creamy, glossy finish. It had a milky quality to it, so there was some settling into lip lines, though it went on more evenly than a lot of similarly hued shades. It lasted for two and a half hours on me, and the formula was neither drying nor hydrating, but it was comfortable to wear. Get comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

I was surprised that every single shade had a pretty comparable dupe within the permanent range of NARS Lipgloss, so you may want to check your stash if you have a lot of their permanent glosses in your stash.

As I mentioned in my review of Silent Nude, this is a new formula that’s described as a “soft, silky texture with sheer, buildable matte color.” There’s a bit of chalkiness to the product with some powdery excess that gets kicked up as you touch the brush against the powder’s surface. The texture has that thin, slightly dry feel and the powder is firmly packed into the pan, though it isn’t stiff at least. It’s definitely less intense than a lot of NARS’ blushes have been, but it’s more semi-opaque than truly sheer, as you only need a small amount to get color to pop on the skin. It was fairly blendable but not as forgiving as NARS’ original formula. On me, it lasted for eight hours before showing signs of fading.

You are being warned… the powder blushes in this collection represent a new formula. If you gasped, so did I as I was so surprised to see the words “new formula” in my email from NARS that I double-checked to confirm. The new formula is described as a “soft, silky texture with sheer, buildable matte color.” The texture is noticeably thinner and more powdery than most of the NARS blushes I’ve tried in the past while the powder seems to be pressed more firmly into the pan. It had semi-opaque color coverage at best, but it tended to apply semi-sheer. This is a shade best suited for light-medium and fairer skin tones, as it barely shows up on my medium skin. It applied evenly and didn’t look powdery or dry on my skin, though it might not be the case if you have dry patches on cheeks (my swatching arm is a bit drier and it caught a bit on the driest area). On me, it lasted for seven hours before fading.

Surratt Beauty Artistique Eyeshadow ($20.00 for 0.06 oz.) is described as a “wet or dry” powder formula that can “bring sheer washes of color and rich, vivid hues to lids.” The texture of the formula is very silky and finely-milled–these did kick up some excess powder when putting a brush to them–that seems to melt on the skin. The ones I bought were all shimmery, though the brand has some matte options in the range. They wear for seven to eight hours with semi-opaque to opaque coverage, depending on application method. The formula is blendable on the skin and fairly easy to use.

As a FYI, these are designed to be placed into the brand’s compacts, so the packaging they come with isn’t the sturdiest you’ll find. My experience shows that the packaging is sufficient for being kept in a vanity, but I wouldn’t travel with them. The plastic slides off, and it does tend to slide on its own, if tossed in a makeup bag. I keep mine in a Z Palette with magnets attached to them.

Surratt Beauty Ingenue Artistique Eyeshadow ($20.00 for 0.06 oz.) is described as a “glowing pink.” It’s a soft, light-medium rosy pink with warm, yellow undertones and a frosted sheen and a smattering of silver sparkle. It goes on sheer if you apply it dry and was buildable to semi-opaque coverage dry, while damp application yields more pigmentation. The texture is very smooth, but it is a bit softer and prone to powderiness than other shades in this review. It wore well for seven nours before creasing. Get comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

Surratt Beauty Cuivre Artistique Eyeshadow ($20.00 for 0.06 oz.) is described as a “copper.” It’s a slightly muted, medium brown with warm, reddish-orange tones and golden shimmer that gives it a pearly sheen. Applied dry, it had semi-opaque pigmentation that looked softer and less intense compared to the damp application, and the texture was less smooth. Applied damp, it was intensely pigmented and very easy to work with. This shade wore well for eight hours. Get comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

Surratt Beauty Patine Artistique Eyeshadow ($20.00 for 0.06 oz.) is described as a “patinated silver.” It’s a cool-toned, dark taupe brown with a soft frost finish and golden sparkle. It had sheer color payoff applied try, which I was able to build up to semi-opaque coverage. It tends to blend out and look more sparkly if you use it dry. When applied damp, it was mostly opaque and applied more evenly. It lasted for eight hours but has a bit of fall out over time. Get comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.